Port Augusta Prison is in lockdown and officers have “ceased unsafe work” under the Work Health and Safety Act, demanding that prison management make their workplace safe after inmates were found to be escaping from their cells.
Key points:
- Port Augusta inmates were removing windows to retrieve contraband
- Prison officers are concerned for their safety and have “ceased unsafe work”
- The security breach occurred within the prison and there was no risk to the general public
The lockdown commenced on Monday after correctional officers discovered inmates were removing windows to escape a high-security accommodation block to retrieve contraband from prison grounds.
The assistant general secretary from the Public Service Association, Christian Hagivassilis, said Correctional Services departments had failed to “adequately respond to recent safety breaches”.
“This accommodation block houses some dangerous prisoners,” he said.
“They’re essentially escaping to bring contraband items back into the prison.
“We could be talking about drugs, weapons and mobile phones — all of these things compromise the security and controlled nature of the prison environment.”
Currently, prisoners are restricted to their cells and are unable to leave for exercise or other activities.
According to Mr Hagivassilis, members believed the department’s response to their safety concerns to be “cursory” and “superficial”.
“Ultimately, the officers want to feel safe returning to their normal duties at work,” Mr Hagivassilis said.
“The prison needs to remain in lockdown until they are satisfied that their safety and security issues have been addressed,” he added.
Additionally, Mr Hagivassilis said the breach brought up broader issues at the prison like “job slashing”, where the removal of crucial staffing posts such as night patrols have ceased.
“[It] appears to be arbitrarily through the department’s benchmarking process that we [the Public Service Association] have been fighting for the return of for quite some time,” he said.
Deputy chief executive at Department for Correctional Services, Hayley Mills, commends the officers at the Port Augusta Prison for quickly detecting the breach.
“The department has immediately and comprehensively commenced working through a remedial cure plan,” she said.
“On top of this we have also engaged external experts, with unequivocal briefs to deliver us a solution, to ensure this breach couldn’t be replicated again.”
Ms Mills is confident a plan will be delivered to her within the next 24 hours.
“[I] appreciate that we’re dealing with a staff confidence issue and I need staff to feel assured by the multiple layers of additional security protection we’re working to put in place,” she said.
Since the security breach, two units on the premises have been closed due to not having satisfactory mitigations in place.
Additionally, the department is working with the South Australian Police force to investigate the illegal activity.
“There has been significant disruptions to the prisoner population, including moving a group of prisoners that were identified as potentially being involved,” Ms Mills said.
“This is a very high priority for us and [the plan] will be deployed as quickly as possible.”
Ms Mills confirmed that the breach occurred with the secure perimeter of Port Augusta Prison and that there was no risk to the general public.
